Fluid treatment of textiles fibers



Feb. 5, 1957 c; wlLKlE 2,779,977

FLUID TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FIBERS Filed June 4, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M/VENTOR Feb. 5, 195? R c. WlLKlE FLUID TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FIBERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 4, 1953 viliiliiliii INVENTOR 7' ILK/E E B 0 R ATTK Feb. 5, 1957 c, wlLKlE 2,779,977

FLUID TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FIBERS Filed June 4, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVENTO/P United States Patent FLUID TREATMENT OFTEXTILES FIBERS Robert C. Wilkie, Andover, Mass, assignor to Pacific Mills, Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 4, 1953, Serial No. 359,602

6 Claims. (Cl. 19--66) The present invention relatesto the handling and liquid treating of textile fibers, and more particularly the invention relates. to processes. of liquid treating. such fibers in packages of either sliver or bulk fiber.

Heretofore one practice in the processing of wool to top has been to process the fibers into the form of a strand, as a sliver, and then to form the combed wool sliver into tightly wound balls Weighing about 12 pounds and to wrap these balls in paper and store them for as long a period as possible, depending on the economic policies of the user. This storage period served the purpose of causing the fibresto become more dormant and less springy, due to the tension and compression of the wind causing the fibers to assume their tensioned form to a more or less permanent degree depending on the duration of the ageing period. Such loss of springiness' of the fiber insures a greater degree of control in subsequent drawing operations and, hence, better operating efiiciency and better quality, reflected in a more uniformand stronger yarn., However,. by the practice involving winding the sliverintoballs these advantages canto force several of the balls on to a perforated spindle and then immerse the loaded spindle in a tank and pass the dye (or other liquid) through the fibers by forcing it to flow through the perforated spindle, either inwardly or outwardly, orboth. With this procedure it has been extremely difiicult to produce a uniform distribution of the color or chemical. Forcing of the balls onto the spindle causes a good deal of. damage to the fibers and distortion of the sliver. The fibers nearer the spindle tend to filter treating liquid flowing from the spindle, lessening its effect on fibers located farther from the spindle, and vice versa when flow is in the opposite direction. Further, the liquid flowing through the ball from or toward the holes in the spindle tends to channel due to the fact that balls from dilterent winding machines vary in. the pattern and tightness of wind, and because his impossible to compress the balls on a spindle with any substantial degree of uniformity with respect to density within a given ball or from top to bottom of the spindle. Consequently, as the dye liquor or other liquid is forced through the balls under very high pressure some portions of the balls have a greater concentration of dye or chemical applied than other portions. With such balls, any color or chemical distributiongradient due to the filtering. action of the fiberstor to channeling is distributed over some. 300 yards of sliver so that many subsequent doublings and draftingsare required to. bring the entire batch to a uniform condition;

When processing wool, the difiiculties mentioned above are serious, but when dealing with various synthetics, such as rayon, nylon, Orlon, Dacron, etc, the problems are magnified many times, and also new ones appear. For instance, in the case of viscose rayon, the fibers are very slippery and only by winding under high tension can a compact ball. be made, and then only up to a certain size, when the sliver starts to slip sidewise. Viscose swells when wet, and tightly wound balls pressed on to a spindle become such a solid block of material due to the swellingaction' that great difiiculty is encountered in forcing any liquor through the package and in removing the treated balls from the spindle.

An alternative prior. practice has been to wind the sliver directly on a spindle and to place 6 or 8 such spindles in a dye bath, usually with about 20 pounds of fiber on each spindle. With. this procedure, the uniformity of liquid treatment can be appreciably improved if the diameter of the spindle is-made large enough, but then fewer yards of material can be-wound on a spindle, necessitating a very large and expensive kettle to accommodate a dyeing (or other liquid. treatment) of the fibers, whether in the form of sliver or raw stock. By raw stock I mean fibersin any form before they have been given any treatment or mechanical manipulation leading to the produc tion of a continuous strand, such as. loose Wool, noils, broken top, out staple or cut man-made fibers. To

obtain the advantagesof storingtthe wool in tightly WOLIHCl balls, and theadvantages'of package dyeing onspindles, as described, it has heretoforebeennecessary first to form the fiber into a strand such as a combed sliver. According to my invention, the fibers can be aged and can be package dyed in either raw stock or strandform. I provide a package of raw stock which can be dyed like sliver, i. e;, on spindles under pressure which never has been possible before. In addition, the fibers of my packages have, without ageing, all of the advantages of aged fibers for use in any system of yarn forming operations.

In addition, thepresent'invention provides other advantages. The packages of .my invention occupy much less space for a given Weight than any known before, with substantial savings. in shipping and storage costs. The packages when placed in cartons lend themselves to handling by the palletsystem with automatic machinery, leading to substantial savings in labor costs. Further, since storage for protracted periods no longer is required, the expense and risk of Warehousing, formerly required for ageing, are eliminated.

The invention is applicable to textile fibers in the form of raw stock, as has been pointed out, or to packages of fibers in the form of sliver. In processing of sliver I prefer to start'with packages of sliver arranged in evenly compacted symmetrically placed coils disposed eccentrically of the package, each coil turn lying in part adjacent the outside of the package and in part adjacent to but spaced from the opposite side of the axis of the package, providing an' axial opening or passageway through the package, such as the" packages produced by the proc ess and apparatus describedin' Wilkie Patent No. 2,478,- 960, dated August 16, 1949;

In. accordance with the invention, such packages of sliver, or masses of fibers before being formed into strand form, containing from 25 to 70 pounds of fiber,

are compressed into the form of a right circular cylinder having an axial opening or passageway therethrough and flat surfaces at its ends. I perform such compression under very high pressures, in excess of about 15 pounds per square inch, as with a hydraulic ram, to reduce the mass of fibers to a volume which is from two-fifths to one quarter, or less, the volume of the uncompressed fibers. Then, while the fiber is confined under such high pressure, a hot fluid, such as hot air or hot water, or, preferably, steam at low pressure, is forced through the package for from about /2 minute to about 2 minutes by flowing it under pressure into the passageway in the middle of the package, and radially outwardly through the fibers, or vice versa. Following the steaming treatment, air (or other fluid) at room temperature or lower temperature is caused to fiow among the fibers, as by passing it under pressure inwardly of the side wall of the package, through the fiber, and out at one end of the passageway, for from about 3 to about minutes. This treatment cools the fibers and when air is employed, removes free moisture. These operations of steaming followed by cooling of the fibers while they are under compression sets the fibers in their compressed form and reduces the normal springiness thereof so that when the compressive force is removed the packages retain their form and size.

Thereafter the compressive force is removed and the packages are transported to temporary storage or to other points at which they are to be further processed, as by dyeing, liquid treating, or processed through further textile operations, such as drafting, etc.

A form of apparatus by which the packages may be manufactured and the principal steps and features of the manufacturing procedure, and of subsequent liquid treating operations on the product, as applied both to 'raw stock and to a sliver package, are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of apparatus for forming my novel package from packages of sliver, showing the position of parts at the beginning of the operation;

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 but illustrates a later step in which the package is compressed and undergoing steam treatment;

Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2 but illustrates the subsequent cooling and drying step;

Fig. 4 shows the apparatus of Fig. l at the end of the process with the completed package in position for re moval;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a finished package of sliver;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 7 is a vertical elevation partly in section of a modified form of apparatus for use in forming my packages from raw stock or top;

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 7 but illustrates a subsequent step in the operation;

Fig. 9 is similar to Fig. 8 but illustrates the subsequent compressing step;

Fig. 10 is an elevation partly broken away of the completed package of fibers in the form of raw stock, as produced by the apparatus of Figs. 7, 8 and 9; and,

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view, partly in vertical cross section, illustrating the process of liquid-treating the completed packages on spindles, under pressure.

Referring to Figs. L4 of the drawings, the apparatus comprises a platform 2 supported for vertical movement on a carriage 4 which may be moved horizontally on the base 5 of the machine. A hollow tube 6 is supported on and passes through the platform 2, and, surrounding the tube 6, a coil spring 8 normally holds the platform 2 spaced above the carriage 4. This apparatus is described in more detail in my prior copending application Serial No. 208,562 filed January 30, 1951, now Patent No. 2,707,- 806, May 10, 1955 of which the present application has been filed as a continuation-in-part in response to a re quirement of division. As described in that application,

and as used in mill practice, the platform 2 is arranged to be moved horizontally over the base 5 by the carriage 4 to selectively position the lower, enlarged end 10 of the tube 6 above and in axial alignment with a steam, liquid, or air conduit 12 passing upwardly through the base 5. The conduit 12 has at its upper end a resilient pad 14 (Fig. 7), e. g., of rubber or neoprene, to serve as a seat for the lower end 10 of the tube 6, whereby an air and steam-tight seal between conduit 12 and tube 6 is established when the platform 2 is moved downwardly against the force of spring 8 during the step of compressing the fibers.

On its upper face the platform 2 is provided with a pad 16 of rubber or other resilient flexible material provid ing a vapor-tight joint between the bottom of the package of fibers and the platform 2, whereby escape of steam or entry of air at this point is prevented, thus assuring a radial fiow of steam or air through the package. Desirably, as shown in Fig. 7, this pad may be of such a diameter as to snugly fit inside the lower end of the can 18, next to be described.

A hollow open-ended cylinder or can 18 having perforations 18a in the lower part of its wall is provided to be placed on platform 2 and around or on the flexible pad 16 to hold the fibers during the compression operation. The compression operation is performed by a hydraulic ram disposed above the top of can 18 and in axial alignment with the conduit 12. This ram comprises a head 20, slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the can, carried on a vertically movable plunger 22 which is adapted to be operated by the admission of fluid above or below a piston (not shown) in the hydraulic cylinder 24, in a conventional manner.

When an empty can 18 has been placed upon the platform 2, a package of sliver, for example the package of sliver which is the product of the apparatus disclosed in said Wilkie Patent No. 2,478,960, is placed within the can. The carriage 4 is then moved on the base 5 to position the can beneath the ram head 20 and with the tube 6 aligned with the conduit 12. Thereupon the apparatus is operated to move the ram head 20 downwardly into the position of Fig. 2, thus moving the platform 2 downwardly against the force of the spring 8 to seat the tube end 10 on the seat 14, and to compress the fibers as shown to a volume which is of the order of less than two-fifths its original volume. I have found pressures of the order of 3060 or more pounds per square inch give good results, although in some cases with some fibers pressures as high as 106 pounds per square inch have been used. This compressing action results in slight compression of the deformable pad 16 and thus the formation of a vapor-tight seal between the lower face of the package of fibers and the tube 6.

Turning now to Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10, when the fibers to be treated are in the form of raw stock a modified form of the apparatus just described is employed, as shown in these figures. A carriage 4 is provided, as before, horizontally movable on a fixed base 5, and a platform 2 is carried on the carriage 4 for vertical movement with respect thereto. The tube 6 having an enlarged lower end 10 is fixed on and moves with the platform 2, and the platform is urged upwardly by a coil spring 8 surrounding the tube between the platform and carriage. The sliver package referred to in connection with Figs. 1-6 has an open-ended axial passageway therethrough but in the case of the raw stock or top such a passageway must be provided. For this purpose a perforated tubular spindle 30 is provided on the platform 2 to extend upwardly from the tube 6. A light tubular member 32, which may be of light inexpensive material, is provided to be placed over the spindle 30 as shown in Fig. 7. With a perforated can 18 in position on the platform with its lower end surrounding or resting upon the resilient pad 16, the loose stock, which first has been carefully weighed; to. assure uniformity firom. package. tov

package, can be readily filled i'ntothe can about-the tube 32,. by hand' or by machine, pressedsdownwardly, to pack itsufiiciently to causeit sofar to maintain it form as to retain .an open. passageway-through its middle asithe tube 32 is removed by drawing it upwardly out of the mass of fibers, as in Fig. 8.

With the. can thus loos'ely filled with fibers, the carriage 4 i operated as before tobring the can and: the tube 6 into axial. alignment with the. ram head 20 and the conduit 12. The ram is thenlowered and as it descends the fibers are compressed into. the space between. the spindle 3t) and the lower, perforated, portion 1:8. of the can. The spindle 39 is of a length. such as to. clear by a. small. distance, for example A1 inch, the ram head 20 in; its lowermost position. Preferably its upper end is pointed as shown to facilitate downward movement of the fibers while preserving the central passageway pro! vided by the nozzle 30. The thin. layer of fibers which may remain at the top of the package acrossv the passageway may be readily pushed through.

As before, downward movement of the ram head 20'. moves the platform. 2 downwardly against the force of spring 8. and with. it the tube 6 into seating relationship with the pad l4;.surrounding the conduit 12;.

When the ram has reachedi its lower position, both in the case of the apparatus of Fig. 2 and ofi that of Fig. 9' just described, the ram is held-in this lower position :to maintain the fibers. under compression. while they are setin; their compressed form. For this purpose the ap paratus. is operated to admit: steam to the conduit 1'2zso that it flows upwardly through tube 6. and'irito the passage- Way 26,- in the package, providing steam at a: substantially uniform pressure throughout: the length of.- this: passageway and, therefore an equal flow of steam outwardly through, the mass of fibers at all pointstfnom end to end of the package. The steam escapes. from; thecan. 18' through the perforations 18a. After the desired interval, which may be from about 15 seconds to about 2 minutes or more, the apparatus is operated to discontinue the steam fiow and to apply a negative prezssurextot the conduit 12, whereupon air flows inwardly throughout the perforations 18a, asindicated in Fig. 3, into the opening 26 and out through the. conduit 12' to cool. the fibersand remove free moisture. When adequate cooling-has takenplace, in about 3 to aboutS minutes, depending upon conditions, pumping of air is discontinued.

The ram is then operated .to raise the head clear of the can 1%. Thecan is removed by lifting itupwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, first moving the plat-form 2. sidewise, if desired, out of the way of the ram and benea-th a hoist, which is used for lifting the can, thus leaving the compressed cylindrical package on the platform in ex:-

posed' position, readily accessible for removal-by the operator. The compressed fibersremainin their compressed condition and the package retains its compressed small size. and form as is illustrated in Figs, 5 and 62 for the sliver package and: in. Fig. 10 for the raw stock package, respectively.

I: have found: that this procedure is applicable for the production of the compressed packages ofthis invention from textilefibers of all types, cellulosic fibers, rawor scoured wool fibers or. synthetic fibers. It hasbeen used successfully with Wool, cotton, regeneratedcellulose (both viscose and cuprammoniinn) Dacromcellulose acetate, Vicara,. nylon and Orlon. The raw stocki. used in my process. may be a heterogeneous mass 015 fibers just as they come from the bale, scouring equipment, 'or picker.

The completed package, as shown in Figs; 5,6 and 10, occupies a space which fifths the volume of the fiber in its normal condition, in the form raw fiber, top, sliver, or moving, as in Figs. 1 and 7. This small size is retained by the package due tothe described steaming and cooling treatment, under all normal" conditions of atmo pheric humidity and temis of the order of les than two per-attire: so-thatr allof the; described: advantages in handling, shipment-andistorageare fully realized.

In addition, .the;package, whether-of sliver or raw stock, can bedyed, by use of-itheHussong, Riggsand Lombard, Venango, Smith-Drum, Morton, Frederics, Franklin, Ob.- ermeier or similar systems, either open or pressure tight, by stacking the packages on; a hollow, perforated spindle which is passedthrough the open-ended axial passageway in the package withoutdamageo thefiber by fiber breakage and without disturbing the integrity of. theindividual strands of fibers.

I much prefer the pressure type of system for use with my packages. A- simplified representative pressure dyeing apparatus is, shown: in; Fig. 11, in. which the dye kettle is indicated at 40.. The system illustrated. is a closed system and the-kettle. 40 is provided with a tightly fitting removable head. 46. The perforated spindle 42 which. passes through the axial passageway of each of the packages: 28 is: provided with means, 44 at its lower endtor supportingthe packages so that the, spindle and assembled packages can be lowered into the kettle as a unit. Dyestuif or other chemical treating liquid is continuously circulated under pressure through the packages by means of a pump. 48,. discharge. line 50, 4-way valve 52 andsclectivcly, by adjustment of valve 52, either throughline 54 which leads to the. interior of. the spindle or through line 56. which leads into the kettle outside thepackages. After flowing; through thefibers the liquid returns to the pumpqthrough line 56 orline 54, depending upon. the setting of valve 52, and the intake line 58. A closed expansion tanlo 6ll-is connected to the top and bottom of. the kettlethrough valved lines: 62- and 64 respectively, the. latter line communicating: with the kettle through 4-way. valve 52; and, either. line 54: or line 56. Provision for adding materials to the kettle while. keeping it under pressure is. provided: by a tank 66. having a tight fitting cover 68"and connectedrinto thekettle through a valved. line- 7 0. A heat exchanger 72. may be provided in. the circulating line for controlling the temperature of the circulating liquid, and, usually, steam and cold water coils 74 also are provided Within the kettle 49.

In: practice up to 6 packages are placed'on a single spindle, providing a total-load: of2.70 lbs. or more per spindle. The spindle or spindlesare then placed in kettle til. and a treating liquid. under pressure, for dyeing or other chemical treatment,is pumped through the packages, as by pumping the-liquid through line 54 into the spindle, from which it flows outwardly through the perforations of the spindle: and through. the fiber. Alternatively,.if line 56 is-connected by valve 52 to the pressure. side of the pump, liquid flows inwardly through the packages, through thepcrforations and into the spindle fromwhich. itispumped backinto the kettle. The liquid may becaused to flow alternately in each of these directions. With. packages of raw stock I prefer to circulate the treating liquid continuously in the same direction and inwardly. of the; packages, that is, intothe kettle through line 56.

The time required. for dyeing or other liquid treatment is markedly reduced as contrasted with prior processesin dyeing of wool the cycle can be reduced by /2 or more.

The symmetrical arrangement of'the coils of the sliver packages and the factthat all packages on a spindle are identical, together with the fact that the packages are perfectly cylindrical in shape with bottom and top surfaces: well squared off and perpendicular to the axis of the package and to theperforated spindle, provide an extremely uniform; distribution of liquor. The packages fit uniformly one; againsttheother and in practice chan neling of the liquor is; rarely observed even under relatrvely high pressures. In the rare. event that there is a difference in color. (or. chemical: distribution). from the inside. to. the outsidaofi; the packtlgfis. the whole. range of color (or chemical) differential extends over only about 18 of sliver, as contrasted with 300 yards or more in prior practice with wound balls, with the result that it is relatively easy to bring all of the wool of a large batch to a uniform color, or to a uniform condition or degree of chemical treatment, with very few drafting or other operations. It has been found that hydrophobic fibers, such as nylon, when formed into a package and dyed according to this invention can be processed into cloth with an astonishing uniformity of color distribution over hundreds of yards of cloth, which can be accomplished only with great difiiculty, if at all, by prior stock-dyeing or piece dyeing methods.

As an example of the application of my process, 25 /2 pounds of 2 staple Orlon was formed into a dimensionally stable package 16 in diameter and in height. Nine of these packages were placed in a 40" O. D.--120# Butterworth yarn pressure dyeing machine, 3 packages per spindle on 3 spindles, and dyed to a brilliant and uniform royal blue shade, which shade heretofore has been particularly difiicult to obtain on Orlon, using the best current methods of dyeing, and which could not have been obtained in an open kettle.

As a result of the larger amount of fiber in a given volume which is made possible by my package, it is possible, I have found, to reduce the amount of dyestuff and dye assistants employed to obtain a given desired shade. As the dyestuif is a costly element in the dyeing operation, this reduction is economically important. At the same time, the liquor ratio of the bath can be reduced, that is, the total amount of liquid based on the weight of the fiber can in my process be reduced by as much as 75%, while still obtaining equally satisfactory results.

In addition, my package provides the possibility, for the first time in the practical art so far as I am aware, of dyeing raw stock or top under pressure conditions. While this is advantageous with all fibers, it is of particular significance in connection with some of the synthetics, e. g., Orlon, in providing the possibility of producing shades and effects which cannot be obtained with these dilficultly dyeable materials at atmospheric pressure.

With fibers which swell excessively when wet, such as some of the cellulosic fibers, I have found that, with my package, such swelling is not detrimental, which result I t i attribute to the fact that the pressure exerted by the swelling fiber is in a radial direction coupled with the fact that my arrangement of the fibers, particularly of the coils when laid as shown in Fig. 5, allows for relatively free movement, as contrasted with the conventional wool balls, even though the packages are closely confined top and bottom on the spindle. Therefore, any swelling of the individual fibers results only in an increase in diameter of the package with no apparent increase in the density of the package and, thus, no increase in difficulty of liquor penetration or in difficulty in removal of the package from the spindle.

It has been found that a batch of fine wool weighing 30 pounds when formed into my package occupies as little space as the old conventional 1 2 pound ball. With coarse Wools and certain synthetic fibers the volume reduction is even greater, as much as 50 pounds or more of fiber being contained in this same space.

In the worsted industry it has not been common heretofore to dye the wool in the form of raw stock for thereason that it has not been economically possible to dye as large an amount of wool in this form at one time as can be done with sliver, yarn or piece goods. Ordinarily, also, the mills do not dye raw wool for the worsted system because of the loss due to colored noils which are almost worthless. My package now makes it possible to dye raw stock wool, or other fibers, by the methods applicable to sliver which never could be done before.

The present application is a continuation-impart of my prior application Serial No. 208,562 filed January 30, 1951, now Patent No. 2,707,806.

The compressed packaged disclosed herein is claimed in application Serial No. 423,986, filed April 19, 1954, as a division hereof, and the method of making it is claimed in said application Serial No. 208,562.

I claim:

1. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with flat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and having an open-ended axial passageway therethrough, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment, set, in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness, whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are well adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the fiat end surfaces of adjacent packages in contact, and passing a liquid treating material under pressure through said passageways and radially through the packages.

2. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of raw stock textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with flat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and having an open-ended axial passageway therethrough, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment, in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness, whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are well adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the flat end surfaces of adjacent packages in contact, and passing a liquid treating material under pressure from the outside of the packages radially through the packages and through said passage ways.

3. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with fiat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and the fibers in each package being in the form of symmetrically arranged coils of sliver disposed eccentrically of the package with each coil turn lying in part adjacent the outside of the package and in part adjacent to but spaced from the axis of the package providing an open-ended axial passageway through the package, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness, whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are well adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the flat end surfaces of adjacent packages in contact, and passing a liquid treating material under pressure through said passageways and radially through the packages.

4. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with fiat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and having an open-ended axial passageway therethrough, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment, set in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness, whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are well adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the flat end surfaces of adjacent packges in contact, immersing the stacked packages in a liquid treating material under pressure, and passing the liquid treating material under pressure through said passageways and radially through the packages.

5. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of raw stock textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with flat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and having an open-ended axial passageway therethrough, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment, in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are well adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the flat end surfaces of adjacent packages in contact, immersing the stacked packages in a liquid treating material under pressure, and passing the liquid treating material under pressure through said passageways and radially through the packages.

6. The method of liquid treating textile fibers which comprises providing a plurality of compressed packages consisting of textile fibers modified by treatment by heating and cooling under compression, each package being cylindrical in shape with fiat ends at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and the fibers in each package being in the form of symmetrically arranged coils of sliver disposed eccentrically of the package with each coil turn lying in part adjacent the outside of the package and in part adjacent to but spaced from the axis of the package providing an open-ended axial passageway through the package, the volume-to-weight ratio of the package being less than two-fifths that of an uncompressed package of the same fibers, said fibers being, as a result of the heating and cooling treatment in a dead and dormant condition characterized by a lack of their normal springiness, whereby the package has the property of remaining, under normal atmospheric conditions and when wet, in its compressed state, and the fibers are W611 adapted, without ageing, for yarn forming operations, stacking a plurality of the packages with their axial passageways aligned and with the fiat end surfaces of adjacent packages in contact, immersing the stacked packages in a liquid treating 'material under pressure, and passing the liquid treating material under pressure through said passageways and radially through the packages.

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